Silent As The Cave
by Senghennydd
Summary: When Liz meets a beautiful stranger who saves her from danger, she wants to know more about him, but his dangerous reputation cold hard eyes and horrific secret keep her at a distance. But does saving her mean a death sentence for the both of them?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, this is my first fan fic so it would be great if you could take a read and see if it's any good. Any comments are welcome, good or bad. **

**I don't own anything to do with the Night World Series and hope I can provide a story worthy of being associated with it and L..**

**I'd like to apologise for anything I get wrong about the American Schooling system as I've never been there and am going on purely what I can work out from online!  
**

Chapter 1

It's hard changing schools. It's even harder changing Continents. What Liz Hart's parents had been thinking when they moved her from their beautiful town house in Bath, to some old fashioned American town, she'd never understand. She had been content in her life back home, with her many friends who loved her, John Chapman whom she'd had a crush on for years keeping her romantic imagination alive, and the beautiful city of Bath she had loved even more as maturity ensued. Admiring the historical architecture and bustling streets, there was nothing Liz like better than to take one of her long walks through the town centre.

Blossom Ridge on the other hand was not well known for its architecture or large population. As far as Liz was concerned Blossom Ridge shouldn't be well known for anything. Travelling along the long highway from the airport to their destination, Liz was struck by the lack of scenery surrounding the Wells family's large rented car, stupidly oversized in Liz's opinion, considering all their belongings had already been shipped to the house. A solitary car on the opposite side, just as large as the one they were travelling in proved to be the only life Liz saw for another 50 miles. All around her were brown barren hills and American style sign posts informing them which road they were travelling on.

Liz's expectations of Blossom Ridge were fading with every desolate mile they travelled. Drifting asleep, she was awoken by the change in engine as her father pulled into the driveway of a boring looking house. With an American flag waving outside and a white picket fence around the front lawn, there was no escaping the change in continent. Despite the sun outside, a shiver ran up Liz's arms as she starred up at the white house. She knew it had a swimming pool out the back, a point that had piqued her interest, and she was a little excited to see her new room, but staring down the tarmac drive towards the row of identical houses that lined both side of the street, she knew she would never love it in the same way she had their old house in Bath.

The unpacking took a few days and Liz made a few feeble attempts to make her new room as homely as possible, but there was something strange about putting their old possessions in a new house and nothing seemed to sit right.

"Why don't you go and explore the neighbourhood?" asked Liz's mother, Chantelle Harts prompted as Liz slumped down at the breakfast table looking utterly dejected. They had been there a week, and Liz's parents were worried about her, though they'd never admit it. She stayed in the house all day, despite the glorious sunshine, reading a book or staring into space.

"Hmm?" Mumbled Liz, who had been in a world of her own imagining what her friends back home were doing.

"Go explore the neighbourhood," Repeated her mother, "there is some beautiful woodland behind us, and you haven't even seen the centre of town yet. You may even make friends before you start your new school next week."

Liz's stomach dropped as her mother mentioned her new school. Blossom High promised to be everything an American school ought to be, with high credentials and excellent exam scores, and despite herself, Liz was secretly excited to start a new school. With her far above average exam marks and open personality drawing friends in, she had always enjoyed school and hoped that this strange American one wouldn't be too different.

"Ok, I think I shall," Replied Liz to her mother's suggestion. "It's about time I got out the house a bit." And with that Liz ran to her room, energised by the new thought of school and genuinely curious as to what the town was like around her. She looked herself over in the mirror with a critical eye, knowing that first impressions always lasted, although it was unlikely she would come across anyone on her woodland walk. For a typical 17 year old, in her own opinion she was not that bad looking, with long blonde hair and green eyes that sparkled like emeralds, however most of the people that came across Liz thought her to be one of the most attractive and beautiful girls they had ever seen. Many declared that if it were not for her 5 ft 2 stature, she could easily be a model.

Oblivious to the praise Liz carried on in modesty, not fully understanding the smouldering looks thrown her way as she walked along the street or from the boys in her school.

Even now as Liz looked herself over in the mirror she could see nothing great in her complexion. Wearing a thin white cotton dress that showed off her beautiful golden skin and modest cleavage and a light grey cardigan to keep off the breeze, Liz set out towards the beginning of the wooded area behind the house.

At first Liz was slightly overwhelmed by the enormity of the woodland that surrounded her. Almost as soon as she stepped over the stile and off the tarmac drive, she knew that she would love the massive expanse of trees and soft pine needle littered floor. The sun was straining to creep through the foliage above, leaving strange patterns on the floor. As far as the eye could see, there were just trees and woodland floor, bluebells dotted sporadically, and a few small animals shuffled, disturbed by her intrusion.

With a sudden impulse, Liz ran forwards as fast as she could dodging in and out of the trees, her heart elated with the feeling of freedom , her beautiful hair splaying out behind her as she disturbed small birds from neighbouring trees.

Running till she ran out of breath, a smile plastered over her face, Liz threw herself on the floor, not caring for the brown soil that may now be on her white dress and leaves in her hair. She closed her eyes and felt more peaceful than she had in a long time. Breathing in the earthy brown scents and feeling the few rays of sunlight that escaped the blanket above, warming her skin.

Liz wasn't sure how long she lay there like that, in perfect contentedness. However when a low growling was omitted from somewhere nearby, her body snapped to attention and she sat up so suddenly she felt a wave of nausea pass over her. Frantically looking around her she spotted an animal she could only assume to be a wolf, just twenty metres away. It was crouched over some bloody mess on the floor, its attention fully turned to whatever prey it was devouring.

Her heart beating rapidly Liz attempted to stand slowly, making as little noise as possible. Her legs felt like jelly and she was finding it hard to find her balance. Unaware of which direction she had come from, she at that moment also realised the depth of her mistake. She had run without care in any direction, straying from the path. The irony of her mistake was not lost on her as her mind irrationally jumped to Little Red Riding Hood.

She was now fully on her feet, and decided that either way she had to escape and turned to run in a random direction. But stepping backwards, she heard a snap under her foot, a simple twig, but still enough to draw the Wolfs attention. Realising it was now or never Liz span on the spot and bolted in the opposite direction. Or at least she tried to, however she ran into something hard and sprang back onto the floor skirt flying up her thighs and leaves fluttering everywhere. She didn't have time to think about what she had bumped into as panic gripped her and she once again attempted a blind dash away from the wolf, only to be met by the same fate. Only this time she was caught before her inevitable fall to the forest floor by a pair of strong arms, gripping her shoulders. Surprised, Liz looked up into the eyes of her rescuer, looking straight into a pair of sea blue eyes. He was beautiful, in a way Liz had only imagined in fairytales. She momentarily forgot her fear of the Wolf and was hypnotised by the man holding her, feeling his warm hands through the thin wool of her cardigan.

He leaned forwards and she noticed a lock of black curly hair fall into his eyes as he did so.

She wondered what he was going to do, his blue eyes burning with what looked like anger, putting a new fear into her heart. His chiselled features were set in a stern expression, his skin pale against his jet black hair and Liz wondered what could make him so angry.

Leaning closer still he put his lips to her ear and whispered softly to her, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Do not move."

His deep voice seemed to resonate through her and she felt a shiver run up her spine as, with his eyes trained on the wolf behind her. He slowly walked around her, releasing his grip, and stood back to back with her.

Frozen to the spot, Liz could only do as he said, tears now threatening to fall from her eyes at the shock. She felt movement behind her, and then a slight whimpering as four paws pounded off into the distance, and the boy walked back around to her front taking in her dishevelled appearance.

"It's ok, you can move now." He murmured.

She looked up into his eyes and felt one of the tears that had threatened to fall, escape her eye and silently slide down her face.

"Thank you" she whispered, still unable to move.

He looked her over, she felt his eyes take in every detail of her body and suddenly felt naked before him.

"Are you alright?" He asked after a few moments.

"Yes I'll be fine, thank you" She replied, wanting him to go away to leave her to her embarrassment.

She started to gather her wits about her, and looked around to where the wolf had been. Now there only remained the bloodied carcass on the floor to confirm it had ever been there. She turned back to the boy who now seemed to be livid. She recoiled from his gaze as he stepped forward with fire in his eyes.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" He shouted at her, "you shouldn't be out here alone, you stupid, stupid girl!"

Liz cowered at the sudden change in his expression and stumbled back a few steps. The fury in his eyes burned straight into her, and the admiration and gratefulness she had felt towards him just moments ago turned into fear.

"Go home you idiot!" He growled at her, his muscles in his neck bunching, and his fists clenched at his side.

She stumbled back again away from him and frantically looked around her trying to get her bearings and figure out which way was home. She glanced back up into his face, eyes wide with panic, not wanting to ask him for directions, but also not wanting to be left in the woods.

He looked down at her small frame, quivering slightly as a light breeze ruffled her hair, the tension between them palpable.

"You don't even know where you are, do you?" He mumbled, seeming to control his emotions. The fire in his eyes was slowly decreasing.

He turned his back on her and started to walk away.

Ashamed, but not so much that she wasn't afraid to ask for directions, Liz called out to him in a shaking voice

"Wait!...Wait, please, I don't know how to get back to the road"

"Follow me then." He mumbled, so quietly she could barely hear him.

His strides were long and his tall frame carried ahead of her much faster than she could hope to move, and so had to run to keep up.

As she followed him she was concentrating on the floor to stop her falling over twigs so much, that she hadn't noticed he had stopped and ran straight into the back of him.

Again he caught her arms to stop her falling, however this time instead of coming into contact with her cardigan, he grabbed her wrists. An intense fizzle of electricity shocked the two of them and he instantly let her go, as if the pain was too great, and she fell to the floor.

She looked up at him, and saw her shock mirrored in his beautiful blue eyes.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." he mumbled and ran off into the forest without another word.

Liz slowly pulled herself to her feet, and looked around. To her astonishment she was back at the stile. Shaking the leaves from her clothes, she slowly gathered herself up and made her way back to the house, thinking over the extraordinary events of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was a while before Liz saw the mysterious blue eyed boy again. She hadn't returned to those woods, and had spent the rest of the school holiday reading, getting used to American television, and swimming in the rectangular pool out the back of the house.

It was, in fact, her first day of school when she was to see the Blue Eyed Boy again, as she had come to think of him in her mind.

She walked into her first class, chemistry, after navigating her way around the corridors with their many lockers, a little late after having a bit of trouble figuring out which class she was meant to be in.

"Ah this must be Miss Hart, thank you for joining us." Exclaimed the teacher as she meekly pushed the door open glancing around the class of curious teenagers.

"My name is Mr Roche, and class, this is our new student, Elizabeth Hart. Please find a seat Miss Hart and take this book." Liz, who had been blushing to the roots of the blonde hair through this little spectacle, took the text book he had handed her and looked around the room frantically looking for a seat.

She saw a chair towards the back and dived for it, not wanting to be standing in front of the curious eyes for longer than needs be.

As the teacher continued to welcome the class back from their holidays, she took the time to steal glances at the people sitting around her, whose attentions had now been moved back to the front where Mr Roche was outlining the curriculum.

It felt strange for her to be sitting in class wearing her own clothes, as her old school had had a uniform, but everyone around her seemed completely at ease in their colourful array of clothing. This had been her first obstacle of the day, not having a clue what to wear to school. Having settled on a pair of tight fitted jeans and a baggy muse t-shirt complete with a pair of red Converse, she was glad by her choice looking around at the other students.

She didn't stick out and she didn't look boring, and she certainly didn't look like a slut, unlike the brunette girl sitting directly in front of her. The girl was wearing a tight small top and far too short skirt that revealed a band of honey tanned skin around her waist. She was leaning over provocatively towards the guy sitting in the seat next to her, obviously trying to catch his attention and involve him in a whispered conversation.

Liz let her attention slide to the boy and felt a slight gasp slip from her lips. No one noticed her strange behaviour, but she felt heart beating faster as she recognised the dark haired guy this girl was so intent on impressing. From her vantage point she could see his stiff profile and obvious disinterest in the girl as he faced the front, throwing annoyed glances in the girl's direction when she rested her fake nailed on his strong forearm.

It was him. Her blue eyed boy. Although up close now, she couldn't see his beautiful blue eyes, just the rigidness of his back. His presence unnerved her, and she suddenly felt scared of his reaction when he saw her again. There was no denying that she was afraid of him, ever since their encounter in the woods she had dreamt of him and his cool hard gaze, his fingertips that seemed to burn her, and his tall firm body that had intimidated her so. However despite this fear, there was something about him that fascinated her, and she couldn't drag her gaze from the exchange in front of her.

"Miss Palmer, do we have a problem?"

Liz turned her eyes to the front, dragged out of her day dream. The teacher seemed to be talking to the girl with the short skirt.

"No Sir" She replied in a smooth nasal voice, sitting back in her chair and crossing her long bare legs to the side, angling her body into the aisle.

"Well that's good, maybe you could repeat to me my last new words to prove your perpetual devotion towards Chemistry."

She seemed slightly lost for words and Liz saw the defeat in her shoulders as she turned her body fully towards the front.

Chemistry passed without any more drama, and Liz was quietly confident in her understanding of the syllabus, having taken Higher Chemistry in her previous school.

As the class were dismissed everyone rose at once and noise erupted from the 30 or so students. Carefully collecting her things and pushing them into her leather side bag, Liz joined the crowd and shuffled towards the door, looking at her schedule intently, trying to figure out where the music room was on the small map she'd been presented with at the schools office this morning.

"Ooh you have Music now! I have it too" Exclaimed a voice above her right shoulder, making Liz jump slightly at the first interaction she'd had today.

She turned around and looked up into the handsome face of a tall blonde haired male with bright shining eyes and a smiling face. She smiled back uncertainly, finding his enthusiasm infectious.

He thrust out a hand towards her and introduced himself as "Christopher Jason Smith III". She shook it willingly, relieved that she wasn't going to be ignored all day.

"The third?" she questioned.

"Yes, unfortunately it is a bit of a tradition in some parts of America to give the first male in the family the same name as their father. Guessing you're not from around these parts?" He questioned looking slightly bashful.

"No, I've just moved from Britain with my parents."

"Ah, you're from across the pond. Well I must say that accent of yours is enchanting, I'm sure you'll have plenty of attention flying your way soon enough. Would you like to walk to music with me?"

His voice sounded hopeful as she glanced up into his handsome face.

"Sure" she grinned, still blushing from the compliment he'd paid her.

Chris, as he insisted on being called, turned out to be a very attentive friend and helped her find each of her classes as most of them he was in. He explained any of the customs she didn't understand, and even helped her find her way about the Canteen in the food hall.

"Come sit over here" He motioned to her as she balanced her tray on her hand, paying the severe looking lunch lady.

He was motioning to a table nearly full of boisterous looking teenagers, laughing and catching up after the long summer. She followed his lead and sat down at the table keeping her head down not wanting to see the disapproving looks as she invaded their area.

"Everyone, this is Liz, she's new and British. Liz, this is everyone." Chris announced.

She suddenly found herself engaged in conversation, bombarded with question after question about England, her family, and where her house was now.

By the end of the day she was exhausted and yet comforted that she was going to be ok in this school. She had made many friends and already found a few males staring at her a little longer than necessary. The only thing that had darkened her day was not catching site of a certain Blue Eyed Boy. He hadn't been in any of her next classes, and despite furtive glances around the canteen at lunch when her attention wasn't directed towards any of the other students, she hadn't seen him again. She didn't understand why this plagued her so, but she seemed to be unable to stop thinking of him. His mysterious persona intrigued her, and despite the fear she felt in the pit of her stomach remembering him in the woods, she longed to catch a glimpse of him again.

She carried herself off exhausted to bed that night, dreaming of him again and waking up restless and hot in the middle of the night.

The next day proved to be much of the same as the last, however now she had joined a small group of friends who had willingly adopted her into their group. Chris being one of these, introduced her to Hannah, a tall girl with red hair who played for the women's soccer (football in Liz's language) team, Adelaide a buxom brunette with a mouth that never stopped, and finally Ron, a jock from the football team who was cheery and inviting towards Liz, making a few moves on her but not enough to make her feel uncomfortable.

It was in this group of friends that Liz found herself walking towards Geography, the girls nudging her and pointing out who was who. They pointed out Jacqui Palmer, the girl who had been wearing the short skirt in Chemistry.

"School hoe", as they described her. "She's been after Stefano Reed since, like, forever" Whispered Adelaide.

"Who's Stefano?" She questioned.

"Tall, dark and handsome, that's what he is. Loving, friendly and welcoming, that's what he is not. He's simultaneously the best looking and scariest guy in school."

"Yeh, I heard even the teachers are scared of him" Added in Ron.

"Surely he's can't be that bad?" Liz wondered, doubtful.

"You'll see" Chris replied ominously. "Just don't go anywhere alone with him, I'll tell you that now, there are rumours of him having his way with girls, and I don't trust him. I wouldn't want you hurt."

Liz was touched by his concern. But realised a problem, "I don't even know who he is, how can I avoid him if I don't know who to avoid?"

"He's that one" Chris pointed, as they rounded the corner of the Geography room.

Liz froze in her stride, as Chris pointed out her very own Blue Eyed Boy. His attention was directed out of the window and appeared to have not noticed the pointed glances in his direction.

So he was the one they were all scared of, well she could understand why now. He was terrifying in his own way, but so beautiful. As she stared at him she could see his hair glint in the sunlight, his pale skin seemed to have a luminosity of its own and his strong muscular body sat rigid in the chair, outlined by his thin v-neck black jumper, exposing a slight amount of firm chest.

"I see we have a new student in our midst," Exclaimed a strict female voice behind her, causing her to jump so violently she nearly fell over the nearest desk. She looked up at the teacher looming over her and realised she had been caught staring, and whilst she had been thinking everyone had found their places.

"You must be Miss Hart, please find a space and take a notebook from the desk." Liz looked around and was forced to move towards the only seat available in the back row, next to Him.

She wasn't sure how she felt about the new information that had been revealed. Sure, she had known he was intimidating, that was obvious from the meeting in the woods, but dangerous?

Liz was drawn from her thoughts as a rumble of excited whispers erupted around her, and she turned her attention to the teacher at the front of the class.

"The trip will be taking place one week from now, and yes it is short notice, but the Darton Cave Complex has only just opened to the public, and is offering a special deal to the schools in the area. Please take a consent form from the front when you leave"

With a smile on her face, Liz's day had certainly turned for the better. She had always loved caves, and revelled in the memories of the caving trips her previous school had taken her on. Something about the dark dank insides that had been created by so many so long ago made her imagination soar.

She turned to look at Chris who had turned to gage the reaction of everyone else. A smile was on his face, but when he caught Liz's eye, his expressions changed ever so slightly, and his gaze seemed to smoulder, and her breath caught in her throat. He was ever so good looking, the thought to herself. He sent her a cheeky wink, and she saw his attention shift to her left, and all merriment left his face. She watched as fear, puzzlement and then anger seemed to flit across his face. She looked to see where his attention was, and gasped as she saw Him.

He was looking at Chris with the most potent look she had ever seen. If looks could kill, she was sure Chris would be withering in pain in his seat. She didn't understand why there was such an obvious tension between the two males, but knew that if something wasn't done to stop this glaring match, one would spring at the other with the pure hatred now shared between them.

As she gazed into the blue eyes of Stefano, he seemed to feel her gaze on him and looked away from Chris, straight into her own eyes transferring the hatred with them.

Liz gasped as if she had been slapped, the intensity of revulsion radiating from him to her made her reel back in surprise.

"Is there a problem Miss Hart?" Barked the teacher from the front

"No Miss" She mumbled, grateful for the interruption. She turned back to Stefano, but he had also looked away.

Lying in bed that night, she thought back to that Geography class, trying to make sense of why he hated her, and more importantly, why she seemed so attracted to him. It wasn't just a simple school girl crush, this was different. She couldn't stop staring at him when he was near, she dreamt of his face, and despite the immediate fear he installed in her, she wanted to see him more, she wanted to go back to the woods and see if he was there again.

Turning over restlessly she tried to clear her mind of him, and think instead of Chris, and the suggestive smile he had sent her way. He was a very good looking guy, nothing compare to Stefano.. No! She stopped herself. Why was she comparing him to Stefano? It wasn't like she had a chance with him, why compare people to him?

She fell into a restless sleep with thoughts of Chris and Stefano swimming around her mind, confusion evident in the creases etched across her face, observed by one other person, a pair of eyes watching from the window. If anyone had been outside at that point they would have seen what many considered to be impossible as a dark figure leapt down from the small balcony outside her window landing with cat-like precision on the soft earth below, and ran off into the woodland behind the house.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The following week passed with surprising velocity in much the same fashion as the previous. Liz came into little contact with Stefano, and was quickly becoming closer to Chris. She even felt the envious glances of her fellow female classmates as he helped her with her books, or pulled out a chair. He would drive her home nearly every night, with the pretence of picking his brother up from the local junior school although she was fully aware that Chris's family lived just 2 houses down from the school.

It was on one of these nights that Liz found herself unbuckling her seatbelt to climb out of the car, when Chris leaned across her to her door handle stopping her get out of the car.

Liz looked up into his eyes, the surprise clearly written on her face. He was staring at her lips as they parted in her surprise.

"I've wanted to say this for a while now Liz" He started hesitantly.

His close proximity was making her feel incredibly nervous; she hadn't really been this close to a guy that wasn't related to her before.

"Chris?" She asked, the innocence in her voice noticeable even to her ears.

He was still leaning on the door, the side of her body crushed into his, their faces just a few inches away. He gazed into her eyes a little while longer till there was a loud rapping on the window, shocking them both out of the moment.

They both turned to see who was outside the window but there was no one.

"Um, I better go." Liz's voice was hoarse, "I'm making tea tonight and I don't want to get in trouble"

Chris looked at her a moment longer and agreed. "Yes maybe it is best, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes of course" she smiled at him.

Getting out the car Liz's legs felt wobbly and her heart was beating from what might have happened in that car. However although she knew Chris was everything a girl could want, she couldn't help but feel a little relieved that nothing had happened and spoilt the friendship of a very valued ally.

Wednesday was the day of the trip and there was a definite hum of excitement in the air as Liz's class lined up outside the building waiting their turn to take a seat on the bus.

"I need everyone's permission form as they get on the bus, so please make sure you have it out ready" Called an anonymous teacher from the front of the line.

Everyone started shuffling around in their bags for their slips, and it was as she was looking, Liz's heart leapt into her mouth. Her form was still in her locker with her wallet. Heart racing she calculated how long she had to get back and how many students were in the queue.

Turning to Chris she asked him to delay the bus as long as he could, and set out running at top speed towards the school.

Liz had moments to spare as she raced blindly behind the back of the bus, form clutched in her hand.

As she rounded the corner she jumped at the door and handed in her form, panting. Climbing aboard she looked around for a seat, only to find that nearly every seat had been taken. She searched out Chris to see a quiet boy from the class sitting next to him. He mouth "Sorry" to her and held up his arms in a shrug.

"Please take a seat Miss Hart, we're already late."

Blushing, she glanced around desperately for a seat till her eyes landed on one of the last seats at the back, far away from any of her friends down by the front.

She rushed towards the empty chair and was a little put out to see that in the adjoining seat sat Stefano. She gingerly sat down next to him as he glanced up and a small scowl crossed his features. She made sure not to touch him however this was no small feat, as his long legs seemed to take up nearly all the leg area, including her own.

She wondered how he could even get into the seat let alone journey in comfort.

Liz had a sinking feeling that this journey wouldn't be so comfortable for her either. She adjusted her seating position, staring straight ahead of her trying her best not to look at him. As the Bus started off, she risked one glance at him, and saw out of the corner of her eye his stiff posture, angled as far away from her as possible.

As the journey continued, her listening to her IPod, him glaring out of the window in silence, the tension seemed to mount between them.

Finally, as the bus jerked around a corner a bit too fast, Liz was propelled towards Him, her small frame being thrown with the bus almost across his lap, her earphones flying out of her ears.

He let out a low growl as she felt his thighs tense under her chest from where she had landed.

Fighting to right herself against the directional force of the bus but to not touch him any more than necessary, Liz's cheeks flamed as he put his large hands on her jumper-clad shoulders and easily manipulated her body into a sitting position again. He bent between his legs to retrieve her IPod and practically threw it in her lap.

Not daring to look at him, she mumbled "Thank you" and was rewarded with a slight shrug as he went back to glaring out the window, the tension between the two in no way diminished, if not heightened.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews, I'm still a little apprehensive about this fan fic as it's my first and I'm not really sure how it's going. I have plenty of ideas, but I think my characters might be coming across cold?

Hope it is bearable for you all :)

Disclaimer: I realised when you write the author of the Night World Series, for some reason it disappears, so I would like to reiterate my lack of ownership of the Night World Series and do not intend any infringement on copyright laws.

Chapter 4

When the class was finally let off the bus, Liz stretched and tried to expel the tension in her muscles after sitting in the same manner for 2 hours.

Having been handed a timetable of what the day was going to entail, Liz joined the rest of her group of friends, seeing Stefano out of the corner of her eye, silent and brooding.

Liz's excitement was barely contained as the group all went off to the inside of the cave entrance, their cheerful tour guide bobbing along ahead of them, pointing out random facts that most people weren't listening to.

The class were lead in and handed a map of the caves. Liz was shocked by the complex caving system that they were going to explore. There were hundreds of different paths leading everywhere, and she immediately grateful for their tour guide.

The group set forwards moving further into the dark dank caves, the natural light eventually fading away, the path being lit by a single line of fluorescent tubes down either side of the main path.

After about 10 minutes of walking, packed closely together so as to not lose any of the group, Liz's interest was apparent, and Chris bent down to whisper in her ear, their footsteps echoing all around them

"You seem to like the dark, Liz" She felt a hand on the small of her back and was glad for the darkness so he couldn't see the blush that spread across her cheeks.

"It's not about the darkness; it's about the history of the place, how many people have been down here? How long did it take to build? How many people died trying to tunnel deeper?"

She felt Chris's admiring gaze on her as she looked in wonder all around her at the cave that was only about 2 feet taller than her own head.

"I suppose it is a bit spooky, thinking of it that way" He responded, snaking an arm around her waist and squeezing her to him slightly.

She was a bit shocked at the action, but was admittedly a little overwhelmed by the extensive paths and had started to feel a bit claustrophobic as the tunnel seemed to close in the further they went.

Liz felt Chris's hand tracing circles against her t-shirt on her side, and was quietly comforted by the action, even when he ran his thumb under the waistband of her jeans, she didn't dare tell him off, just so she could have the comfort of him there.

She knew it was wrong, but there was something daunting about these caves.

Finally the group came to a small chamber that seemed to glisten from the minerals that were set in its walls. As they gathered around the tour guide, he filled them in on the history of the space, warning them not to venture too close to the walls as there were many low hanging rocks.

Liz's claustrophobia seemed to be getting worse as all 40+ students crowded into this small space. She had lost Chris and the others when they had moved into the room, and now looked around frantically, stuck at the back of the group and far too short to see over the heads of the people in front.

Starting to panic, Liz's breathing felt arduous and she backed up away from the group, not heeding the warnings of the tour guide as she felt along the rock with her hands, the cold wetness of the walls bringing back some sort of sense. Suddenly feeling faint, she had the overwhelming urge to sit down, when out of nowhere, there was a quiet "pop" and all the fluorescent lights in the area went out.

The group were plunged into complete and utter darkness, not even the smallest of lights came from anywhere.

Everyone seemed to panic at once, and Liz felt the moving of air as people rushed about her.

It was like being blind, she wasn't sure if her eyes were even open, and the darkness seemed like a pressing force against her chest.

Hyperventilating, Liz attempted to walk forwards away from the wall and back towards where she thought the entrance had been, but she had walked into a screaming person's way.

Liz was pushed backwards into the wall and felt a dull thud and a sharp pain run through her shoulder as she bounced off the person and straight into the jagged wall.

Scrunched into a ball on the floor, Liz could barely breathe, and felt the edges of her subconscious dull, as her eyes rolled back and her head became light.

"Liz...LIZ..." Called a male voice in her ear, pulling her back into a semi conscious state.

"Yes..." She mumbled, her eyes squeezed shut against the darkness

"Liz wake up, you need to stay conscious"

She attempted to shake herself awake, and realised that all around her was silence except for the person here with her now.

It was still pitch black, but the chaos had gone and the pain in her shoulder had subsided.

"Liz, everyone else has gone; the tour guide had a torch. We're the only ones here, and I need you to stay awake till you get to a hospital and sleep."

"I.. I'm ok..who are you?"

"Never mind about that, now keep still I'm going to pick you up."

A strong arm curled around her back and another under her knees, and she was lifted up into the thick air as if she weighed nothing.

"How can you see? How did you know I was down here?" Her senses all returning to her now

"Don't worry about that now, let's just concentrate on getting out of here."

Liz draped her arms around the man's neck, and let her head rest on his shoulders. Feeling his surprise she pulled back her arms, but grazed his cheek in doing so, and suddenly a jolt of electricity ran down her arm.

She gasped at the feeling, although it wasn't painful, and felt him suck in air too. She had only felt that feeling once before in her life and with sudden clarity she suspected she knew who was carrying her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Stefano?" she whispered, voice hoarse

She felt his shoulders stiffen and the muscles in his arms bunch. He made no noise and simply carried on walking.

She reached up to where she suspected his face was and his head jerked away from her searching fingers.

"Stefano what's going on?"

Still he said nothing and Liz decided not to push it. She felt a twinge on her cheek she hadn't noticed before, and put her fingers to it feeling a sticky wetness. She raised her fingers to her lips and tasted the tell tale sign of copper.

"I'm bleeding" she mumbled out loud

"I know" he growled

She hadn't been expecting an answer and his sudden input made her jump slightly. His voice sounded strained and evidently uncomfortable.

Before she had chance to question his comment, the sound of a generator grinding into life broke through the silence, and the fluorescent bulbs around them sparked into life, blinding them both momentarily.

When she gained her sight again, Liz looked up into the face of the man she most likely owed her life to twice, and let out a shrill piercing shriek.

His face was contorted and his eyes were bloodshot and red veins circled his eye sockets, his lips were stretched back from his mouth and two pointed canines hung from their corners, as sharp as a cat's tooth, and as large as a dogs.

He dropped her unceremoniously onto the floor, bruising her already battered body and turned in panic, racing away from her down the path they had come.

Shock consumed Liz and all she was aware of now was her own uncontrollable screams, erupting from her body, which was now shaking uncontrollably. She could hear running footsteps and shouts as the cave walls around her began to spin. The last thing she felt was the cold dirt under her cheek where her head lay, her fingers clawing the floor beside her, trying to get a grip onto the spinning ground, and she finally let go of all sense and fell into a deep darkness.

* * *

"She's going to be ok, she just needs some rest. She seems to have hit her head."

"Does she need to go to hospital?"

"No she'll be ok, there's not much we can do for her except let her sleep it off."

Voices wavered in and out of Liz's subconscious as she struggled to get a hold on her thoughts. Was she back in England? It would be nice to go for a run before school started, she always liked mornings.

She attempted to open her eyes, and felt a bright blinding light above her pierce her eye lids.

"She's stirring, look she's going to be ok" whispered a slightly hysterical female voice she recognised.

"Mum?" She mumbled, still unable to open her eyes properly, her whole body feeling like a paddling pool of water had been placed on top of her, restricting and slowing her movements.

As she gathered her thoughts, everything came rushing back to her in one go. The caves, the school, the lights, and finally, bright blue eyes, surrounded by red veins watching her like she was a piece of meat.

Shock coursed through her body and she attempted to sit up to make sense of the situation, but was met with resistance.

"Sit back honey" Crooned her father's voice, pushing her shoulders back down to the soft bedding below she dropped back down.

Forcing her eyes open and rubbing away the sleep that stuck her eyes lashes together she took in the scene before her.

She had been placed in her own bed back at the house, (calling it home didn't seem right just yet) and surrounding her bed were her parents and an unknown man with a stethoscope around his neck in a slightly too tight blazer, his tie loosened at the knot and a harassed look on his face.

"Liz," Her mum addressed her, "This is Dr Edison and he's just checked you over to make sure you don't need to go to the hospital. How do you feel?"

Liz silently assessed her body as she moved individual body parts, still trying to gather her scattered thoughts.

"I think I'm fine... what happened?" She questioned her voice hoarse

"What do you remember honey?"

"Um... the school trip... then it was dark... then I hit my head...and then...umm..." She didn't know why but something was holding her back from telling them about Stefano, so she just dwindled off into silence waiting for someone to fill in the gaps, unsure as to why she didn't want to tell them about the confusing she felt after seeing Stefano's face.

"Well honey, when the lights came back on, one of the tour guides heard you screaming and came back to the tunnels, and found you out cold. You were taken back here in one of the teacher's cars and we called Dr Edison here to come and look you over."

Liz digested this information slowly, realising that no one knew about Stefano's part in her rescue and she irrationally wondered where he was right now. She couldn't get the image of his face and his teeth out of her head, and although she was terrified by what she had seen, for some reason she thought that maybe he didn't want to hurt her... after all he had saved her...twice.

"Honey," Her mum interrupted her train of thought, "there's a boy here to see you to make sure you're ok. Is it ok if he comes in?"

Liz's heart started racing as her thoughts jumped again to Stefano. Maybe he had come to explain. _Or maybe he's come to kill you _whispered a malicious voice in the back of her mind. Shaking the thought away Liz asked that she be given 5 minutes first and her small audience left the room.

Looking down at her appearance, Liz realised she was still wearing her bloodied clothes and her hands were ingrained with dirt. Oh well, too late to do anything about that. She looked at the bedside clock having lost all sense of time and saw with a shock it was 7pm, which meant she had been out cold for around 3 hours. No wonder her parents were worried!

She attempted to tug at her long blonde hair to get out the knots when the bedroom door handle turned. She sucked in a breath of anticipation, and waited for him to enter.

"Chris!" She exclaimed. As his smiling, blonde 6ft frame filled the door way.

"Hullo" He grinned down at her, taking in her dishevelled appearance in one sweep of his eyes. "You gave us a bit of a scare back there."

"Sorry, I couldn't contain my excitement any longer and ran head long in love with the rocks" She joked, trying to cover her disappointment.

He grinned sheepishly and made his way to the other side of the double bed, sitting down gingerly, making sure to not bump her.

"How' you feeling?"

"I'm ok, feel a bit like I've had a fight with a bull dozer, but I'll be ok."

His cheeks seemed to be tinged red as he lay down on the bed beside her, head propped up on the head board. Liz was a little surprised by his audacity but didn't say anything in case he was offended.

"You know, I really was worried about you back there" He said in sudden seriousness.

Not really knowing what to say, Liz just looked at him and smiled sweetly, her mind a little bit muddled still, trying to comprehend everything that had happened.

As she looked up at him he caught her gaze and held it there for a little longer than she found comfortable. That was when she felt a hand tracing circles on her forearm. She looked down at it and back up at him with wide confused eyes.

"Liz... look..." He breathed, bringing his face down to her level so that their noses were only inches apart.

She realised she needed to stop this before he took it any further. Yes, she liked Chris, but she didn't want to be with him... not in that way... not when..._ not when Stefano is who she really wanted _the voice in her mind piped up again.

But she would never be with Stefano. She could see from his cold harsh eyes his evident hatred for her. Why shouldn't she feel for someone else? Why shouldn't she have a bit of fun?

"Chris," she started, but was cut off when he brought his finger up to her lips, rubbing ever so gently at her bottom lip.

"I've wanted to say this for a while Liz. Ever since you arrived, I've wanted to do this."

And without a second hesitation he closed the distance between their mouths and pressed his soft lips to hers. His hand cupped her face, and his other moved to her waist, pulling her body to his across the bed.

To say the least, Liz was shocked. Of course she'd picked up on the signs of his flirtation, but she had never assumed it had gone this far. She felt his lips move against her looking for entry into her mouth, and she felt herself gasp at the feel of his body pressed against hers. As she did so he took the opportunity and slid his tongue into her mouth, his breath warm and his hands sliding lower down her hip.

Tingles were running through her body where he touched her, and she kissed back with nearly as much enthusiasm as he was now.

The kiss was beautiful and nice. Not the kind to set a heart on fire, but enough to make her want more. He pulled he arms around her and supported her against him, her leaning heavily on his chest and they broke apart momentarily.

He looked down into her eyes, a small smile forming at his lips, grinning as he took in her beautiful face and the feel of her pressed all down his body. He could feel himself stirring under his trousers, and shuffled around so that she wouldn't notice.

"Liz..." He whispered

But he was cut off by a sudden thump on the window. The two jumped apart and Chris ran to the window to see what was out there. It was dark now and the blinds had not been drawn. He glanced out at the darkness and looked back, shrugging.

A knock at the door informed them of her parent's presence, for which Liz was grateful hadn't happened a few minutes before.

Chris excused himself from the room glancing back with a smile at Liz as he left, and her parents shortly followed proclaiming that she had had a very long day and needed to rest.

She took a well needed shower, feeling the hot water bounce off her head and agitate the bump on the back, although the pain felt good. She washed away the blood on her cheek, and scrubbed at her body to get all of the dirt off.

Her room was warm from the evening sun and she was uncomfortably hot in her pyjamas, so changed into a pair of girl boxers and a small white vest that didn't cover much of her, using just a thin sheet to cover her, hoping no one would come and check up on her.

Although it was still quite early in the night, Liz didn't have long to think about Stefano or Chris as she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep almost straight away, the day's events overwhelming her.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Liz awoke with a start as her bed seemed to vibrate beneath her. Thinking this was very strange she felt around with her hands, not yet wanting to open her eyes. Her body was scrunched up on her side, and the bed seemed very hard. She felt that she was right on the edge of it, and attempted to stretch her legs to roll over. However as she kicked out, she met a hard wall at the bottom.

She started gaining her senses and forced her eyes open, blurry at first.

She shot up into a sitting position taking in her surroundings. She was no longer in her bed, but in a travelling car on the back seat. She had just the thin sheet on top of her, which now fell to her waist, and there was a dark shadow in the driver's seat.

"I see sleeping beauty has awoken." Growled a familiar voice.

She opened her mouth to start screaming, however she was cut off mid gasp by a voice in her head

"_YOU WILL NOT MAKE A NOISE" _It commanded, and she found it impossible to talk all of a sudden. Her mouth constricted and she tried to struggle for air but found it near impossible.

Her hands flew to her throat and she wrestled for breath and the imaginary clasp on her throat relaxed and she could breathe again.

Panic started setting in, and she looked all around her, trying to discern her surroundings, but was yet again met with a resistance of her throat cutting off her airways.

"_Don't say anything and don't move"_ The voice in her mind commanded again and she was silent and still, only her eyes showing her terrified thoughts. "_You will sleep again until I tell you to wake" _It continued, and she felt heaviness behind her eye lids that caused her body to slump sideways onto the seat. She had the smallest of power to cover her exposed body with the sheet before she fell back again into a dreamless sleep.

Stefano sat in the driver's seat and glanced back at the young girl sprawled along the chair, her long blonde hair framing her beautiful face, only the worry lines in her small frown giving away the shock she has just received. She wasn't supposed to have woken up. Stefano was one of the strongest telepaths in the Night World, so strong he didn't even need to look at the person he was influencing, all he had to do was reach out into their mind and command them as he so wished.

Why was this girl different? Why did she not bend to his will as every other vermin he had influenced did?

_Soulmates_... the word bounced around his mind as he drove the car at a breakneck speed to his desolate home fifty minutes away from Liz's own house in the middle of the mountains. He shook his head. No, there was no such thing as soulmates. That was a myth... wasn't it? Things like this didn't happen to him. He only entertained vermin for food.

He was a privileged member of Circle Midnight, his record of killing and abusing female vermin teenagers superseded nearly all other lamia his age. He was one of the blessed vampires that could grow old, but had chosen to stop at the modest age of 18. It had only been 10 years since his true 18th birthday and so he was still considered quite young in vampire years, however his reputation had already become known to the council.

He had integrated himself into modern high school to find new ways of seducing the females into becoming his pets. He had already fed from that Jacqui Palmer girl a few times, but the blood connection between them was becoming too strong, and soon he would find a new vermin girl to abuse.

Jacqui had been very accommodating of his needs, and their time in the bedroom together had been very fun for him, however her obvious experience and cheap facade had worn thin after a while and he had wanted a more innocent beauty.

Looking back at the female lying across the seats now, her long toned legs were uncovered and the sheet he had used to make sure that electric connection was not repeated again had fallen at her waist.

He knew she was perfect for his needs. He had convinced himself that it was for these reasons that he had saved her twice now. There was so much he could do to that beautiful tanned body, why have it ruined by some wolf? Or trampled to death by a mob of scared teenagers? His overwhelming urge to protect her still puzzled him. How could he feel compassion for a human? He pushed this thought to the back of his head.

He didn't believe in the Soulmate principle, and so there was no need to be worried about the shock of recognition he had felt when he touched her, or think about the reason he wanted to protect her. That would be forgotten when he had her on his bed, drinking from her and experiencing the innocence that was now his to own.

It was just a shame that if he couldn't manipulate her mind to forget what she had seen, he was going to have to kill her for knowing his secret. But at least he could have some fun first.

Liz woke with a start, disorientated and panicked. She thrashed about in the sheets on top of her and pushed them off, jumping out of the large double bed she had found herself in. The sheets were black cotton and the curtains had been drawn, the room was almost completely bare save the bed and a metal nightstand with a glass top and glowing lamp, and there was one window to her right with a door to the left. Straight in front there appeared to be a small ensuite whose door was open revealing another sparse room with just a toilet and shower.

Recovering herself and forcing order into her mind, she refrained from screaming at the top of her lungs and tried not to draw any attention to herself. She was currently alone and had no wish to encourage the person who had kidnapped her to enter.

Tip toeing to the window she glanced out, seeing nothing but blackness. It was still night time evidently, and the more she looked out the lower her heart sank. She could only see countryside. No sign of life or people, no sign of any buildings. She was also on at least the 3rd floor of a very large building with a gravel driveway below, highlighted by the eerie light from the full moon.

_How fitting_ she thought, glaring at the clichéd moon, as if it was the reason she was now in this compromised position.

Surely her day had been adventurous and terrifying enough without this extra hand that fate had dealt her.

She looked down at herself and saw with her immense embarrassment that she was still in the boxers and ill fitting top she had worn to bed. There was far too much of her body on show, and she cursed the cool air that reminded her she had no bra on.

Wrapping a large sheet around her from the bed she continued her inspection of the room.

The ensuite had no windows and the nearest to a weapon she came was a new toothbrush still in its box with a tube of toothpaste next to it. There was also a towel, shampoo, conditioner, a pack of ladies razors, hair brush, hair dryer, wash cloth and soap, and her own make up bag, of which she noticed the tweezers and nail clippers were gone, the two things she thought she may have been able to use.

Gulping she noticed the letter on the counter next to the items. It read;

_"Please make yourself presentable. Look on the back of the door and I shall be with you 1hr after you wake up, and if you have not done my bidding there shall be consequences that you will regret." _

A new fear gripped her as she looked at the back of the bath room door. There hung a beautiful white dress with a Grecian design and soft flowing chiffon. It was one of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen, with a daring neckline that plunged between the breasts that reached down to the waist and was completely backless.

Realising that this was no ordinary kidnapping, Liz started to shake uncontrollably at the implications this dress held. However looking at the note she knew that the only way she might escape this without too much pain would be to do as he said, for she could only assume that the threat was serious. It was evident he had done this before.

Bathing in the shower making use of the razor and toiletries she scrubbed at her skin, warm tears flowing down her face as soft sobs escaped her lips.

Drying herself and her hair, she applied the make-up and slipped into the luxurious dress. It flowed along her body as she lifted it over her head and the hem settled gently at her feet, fitting her perfectly. She tied the ribbon of the halter neck under her hair and pulled the thin material over her braless chest to try and protect her modesty.

She felt incredibly on view as the gap in the front revealed more of her chest than any other item she had worn before. However there was a certain mystery to the dress, its beauty astounded her, and she was certain it was worth an awful lot of money.

Pushing these wayward thoughts to the back of her head she focused her mind and glanced at herself in the mirror, resolving herself to her fate and leaving the bathroom, ready for whatever was awaiting her on the other side.

r on the other side.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Stefano had heard her moving when she had awakened. He had been impatient for her to stir, and had been pacing the floor, listening for the tell tale change of her heart beat. This he could hear now. He could hear her gasp of breath when she saw the dress and the soft sniffles when she cried. He couldn't wait to go and claim his prize, but he had given her an hour, and he would stick to his word. For now.

Liz walked to the door to the room and tentatively put her hand to the door knob, testing to see if was locked or not. To her great surprise it swung open without any resistance revealing a very modern decorated living room. The TV was on with the sound turned off, and there was two glasses of red wine on the coffee table between a pair of leather settees and an arm chair

There was no one in sight, and a sudden hope sprung into her head. Maybe she could get out whilst he wasn't here. She ran to the door and yanked it open to find a long staircase which she immediately started to scramble down, pulling the dress up around her knees to run faster.

A sudden rush of air flew across her body as she found herself running straight down to the man whom she had feared. She had no idea where he had appeared from and with a shriek spun on the stair she was on and raced in the opposite direction towards the room she had just came from.

Another rush of air and he was then standing in front of her. She came to a stop on the stair she was on in puzzlement and terror, and realised she was staring into the blue eyes of Stefano. It was him. Suddenly everyone's words came crashing back. The warning from Chris, the idle gossip that she had ignored; everyone had been right about him.

Her instinct to trust him had been wrong. Yes, he had saved her twice, but that didn't mean he was a good person. She should have listened to everyone else.

For some reason she felt betrayed, as if she had given him a part of herself and he had thrown it back in her face. He was evil after all.

_How had he moved so fast?_ She had known there was something wrong with him, from what she had seen in the cave, but how could he move that fast?

Questions swirled around Liz's head as she stood as still as a mouse, waiting for the predator to pounce. However he simply stepped aside and opened the door back into the modern living room for her.

"I believe you're meant to be in here, Elizabeth." He called to her.

She couldn't move, fixed to the spot on the stairs. She was hypnotised by his eyes, and suddenly embarrassed by the immodest dress she had on which had moved dangerously during her sprint.

Adjusting her dress she saw a smirk cross his beautiful features.

"I think you should come up here, Elizabeth, unless you would like me to come and help you." And he took a few steps down the stairs towards her, causing her to shunt forwards and trip over the dress, clambering up the staircase into the room before he had chance to touch her.

Backing away from the door, she kept her eyes on him as he ambled into the room, locking the door behind him with a key.

"Well at least that solves that problem," he grinned, pressing the key into his pocket.

"What do you want" She whispered, fear clutching at her heart.

"I want you, Elizabeth" He mumbled, taking a few steps towards her.

She took a shaky step back from his advance and felt the leather settee behind her knees.

"Why don't you take a seat? It would make things so much more comfortable if you weren't going to try and scream or escape every few minutes. Because let me assure you, there is no way you will either be heard, or escape successfully. If you were fortunate enough to get out of this house, you would be lost in the mountains for days, as there is no one around for 40 miles. So please take this as a warning for you not to try and make your get away, as things will be so much more fun for you here."

Through this speech she felt her shaking knees give way and she collapsed into the settee, white chiffon spreading around her. He took a chair across the table from her, and motioned to the glasses on the table.

"Drink" He pointed.

She looked at the wine and hesitated. She enjoyed the taste of wine, for when she was in England the alcohol drinking age had been 18, and with her being so close to becoming the legal age, her family had been quite lax and she often enjoyed a glass at dinner. But now, in this setting, she knew it was not wise to accept alcohol from a stranger, let alone a kidnapper. Even if he was the most attractive and mysterious man she had ever met in her life.

"Elizabeth if you and I are going to enjoy this, then it is best for you to loosen up a little as right now you are as up tight as a ducks arse."

She still hesitated in silence, not wanting to be spiked.

He seemed to realise her dilemma, took a sip from his glass, and offered it to her.

"You see, it is not drugged. Please enjoy." He placed the glass down in front of her, and swiped her own untouched glass from the table and sipped it, watching her reaction.

Taking his lead, she leaned forward and snagged the glass, drinking the rich red wine letting it trickle down her throat. It was a truly stunning wine, and must have cost an awful lot of money. She wondered on him wasting such a fine vintage on her, and saw his eyes flash at her appreciation.

"It is not every day a person so young realises the worth of a bottle. I suppose it must be something to do with the British and their ever obsessive wine fads. Tell me, are you a virgin Elizabeth?"

At his last question Liz's mouth fell open and she looked him in the eye seeing the smirk on his face. She felt a bubble of anger rise up in her chest and downed the rest of the wine in one chug.

Rising to her feet she could feel his gaze mocking her.

"How DARE you!" She bellowed. "How dare you force me to come here, and then ask me questions like that? What do you want with me? Why are you doing this?" She was working herself up into a flustered state and she felt a single tear drop down her face.

He sat there, calm as ever in the arm chair, gazing up at her whilst she had her tantrum.

"Please sit down Elizabeth" He motioned calmly.

"NO! Why should I? And why do you call me Elizabeth? No one calls me that! Why have you made me put on this stupid dress?"

She could see him getting angrier as his jaw clenched and he rose to his feet.

"_SIT DOWN" _He roared, shocking her and she felt that command again in her head forcing her to do his will.

Her knees collapsed not out of her own doing and he crossed the few feet to her chair.

"I have been very nice to you so far Elizabeth. I do not need to explain myself to you." He leant down now putting a hand either side of her head on the settee. Their faces were only a touch apart and she could feel his warm breath on her face.

She looked up into his rage filled eyes and felt a chill of fear run down her spine. He was so beautiful, and so intimidating at the same time. She felt transfixed as he moved his mouth closer as if to kiss her, and then stopped, just a centimetre away.

"I call you Elizabeth because you are mine, and only I call you it. I chose the dress because I wanted you to look perfect for me. I have taken you because I want you, and If I want something, I get it, and what I want with you...? Well, I'm sure you shall find out soon" He whispered.

Liz gulped, all her anger dissipating into apprehension.

"M..My parents will know I'm missing" She stuttered in a murmur, not able to break eye contact with him.

She saw his gaze look down at her mouth and then back to her eyes, studying her.

"I left them a note saying you'd gone to that boy Chris's to meet before school because you and he had formed an attachment and you wanted to spend time with him. You feel a lot better and will go to school with him this morning. You'll probably be going to his afterwards too."

She froze at his logic and wondered whether her mum would buy that. She had wanted her to fit in here so badly she probably would.

He gazed into her eyes a little longer causing her heart to beat a bit faster, and not just from fear. His gracefulness and pure beauty could not be ignored this close up, and she had the sudden urge to close the distance and kiss him. She was fully aware of his muscular tall body just hovering over her own and it seemed to be opening up a primitive desire in her.

_STOP! _Her brain yelled at her. _He's kidnapped you and will most likely attack you, don't be pulled into his web!_

He looked her up and down again and in a flash he was sitting where he had been before. It was like he had never moved.

Liz's mind reeled as she took in the sudden change of position. She gaped at him, unable to bring words to her mouth.

He smiled again and reached for the bottle of wine beside the chair and filled up both of their now empty glasses. He indicated her glass again, and before she knew what she was doing she was drinking from it, hoping the alcohol would calm her down and stop her hallucinating.

He smirked into his wine glass.

"I guess you'd like to know how I can do that." His confident tone was starting to irk her slightly. "Would you like me to show you?"

She made no movement and he growled under his breath. It was a feral growl that shook the windows.

His face contorted into a fixed scowl and his eyes seemed to sink, red veins popping out. His teeth appeared to grow in front of her eyes and his skin stretched back from his mouth. It was the same face she had seen in the caves. But now she was seeing it properly and close up, and what she saw made her tremble. The anger and hunger in his eyes radiated from him, bringing out her instinct to flee.

"NO...no... no..." She seemed to be able to say nothing else as she scrambled over the back of the settee to get away from him. She landed with a soft thud on her back, not caring now about the state of her dress, but listening to her basic instincts that the... thing... in front of her was dangerous, and she needed to get away from it. In another blur of colour he was standing over her, a leg on either side, his face now back to normal.

"Yes Elizabeth. I think we need to have a little chat. Because if we're going to do this properly, I'm not going to have you shrieking every time I show a little vampirism action."

"V...vampirism?"

"Yes my dearest Elizabeth. I'm a vampire. I feed off humans and I intend to feed off you, but do not be alarmed I do not wish to kill you as of yet. I'm a part of the Night World which includes witches, werewolves and shape shifters as they prefer to be called nowadays. It's a massive organisation that the whole of the human race do not know about, and hopefully after tonight you shall also be one of those vermin humans who are unaware." He said this little speech in a very bored tone of voice, as if he was rattling off a shopping list and waited for the information to sink in.

Liz was still struggling to get over the word vampire, but now that she looked at him and his cat like grace, his inhuman beauty, it seemed to all make more sense. This was the reason he could see in the dark and how he had known where she was in that cave.

She felt utterly defenceless on the floor like this, her dress bunched up at her thighs and his piercing stare following the curves of her body.

He wanted to feed from her? What if he killed her?

He seemed to sense her thought process and stepped away from her so that she could sit up.

In a much softer tone now, he knelt down beside her and looked into her large doe like eyes, "I don't want to kill you dearest Elizabeth. But if you struggle, I'm afraid that is exactly what will happen. If you comply I shall simply do as I please and then wipe your memory, return you to your family and you shall never even remember tonight."

He didn't wish to tell her that if her unusual resistance to telepathy caused a problem in his task to make her forget him, he would have to kill her anyway. For every vampire knew the two main rules of the Night World. Do not fall in love with a human, and do not tell a human about the night world. Both of which went mostly hand in hand, and the punishment for breaking them was death for all those concerned.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Liz looked up into his eyes and searched for the evil behind them. The man sitting next to her on the floor seemed to soften before her, his eyes urging her to be calm.

Her knees shaking, she used the Settee to pull herself up off the floor, and watched as he backed away from her as if she was a skittish horse.

"Why don't we just sit down?" He soothed, in his deep masculine voice, motioning towards the settee.

Not wanting to take her eyes off him in case he made a move, she edged her way back from him and around to sit down at the far end of the sofa. She had decided it was best to obey him for now...

He also sat this time, just a few feet away from her, his long well shaped legs sprawled in front of him as if he was completely at ease with the situation.

Liz could feel the wine now in the pit of her stomach, causing her to also relax with him, which she knew was absurd. But there was something about him. Despite the fear he sent shivering down her spine, and the raw hunger that radiated from him, she felt almost as if she could trust him implicitly. He had already saved her life twice, she owed him a lot, and he must care at least somewhat to have done so.

Her opinion was quickly revised when he edged towards her, turning his body and straddled her, a knee either side of her thighs, barely grazing the white material. Her face was level with his chest, and seeing the hard outline of his muscles and small amount of chest hair this close sent warmth through her body.

_Stop it! _She commanded her body. She couldn't be attracted to someone who had kidnapped her, she needed her head clear so that she could make out an escape plan.

He lowered his bum down so he was sitting softly on her knees and his face was nearer to hers. She was shocked at the control he had, feeling his firm bottom just resting on her knees but not applying any force that may suggest a 6ft man was sitting on her. Again heat coursed through her and she tried to hide the blush that threatened to pink her cheeks.

"Tonight is going to be fun," He whispered, his mouth just a few centimetres from her ear.

Fighting back the haze of lust that was threatening to cover her, Liz took her chance and knew this was it. Now or never.

Pushing his clothed chest with all her might she sent him flying backwards onto the floor, catching the coffee table as he went. Not bothering to look at what had happened to him, she flew from the chair and straight to the window. She had spotted the trellis before when he had been pouring the wine, and now only hoped that it would support her weight.

Wrenching open the window, she practically threw herself across and out, grabbing hold of the vine covered trellis that adorned the walls of the house. It was through pure luck that she could now see it reached the bottom, and didn't just stop halfway like she had been dreading. She wondered where He was now. Surely with those reactions of his He couldn't be too far. Scrambling to find footholds further down she began her frantic descent, her dress catching on the twigs and scratching her body, but the pain right now was pointless. She hazarded a glance upwards to see His arrival at the window. He looked down at her and she saw a sigh of frustration, but also relief pass his face. He obviously thought she'd tried to kill herself, and ruin his fun, she thought bitterly.

"You realise that you're not going to get away, right?" He called down to her in a board voice. She knew he could run down the stairs and get to her in time, but his continued presence at the window gave her a small amount of hope.

She refrained from answering him and continued down the trellis that seemed relatively sturdy considering the age of it. She was about a foot from the bottom when one of the wooden foot holds snapped and she tumbled to the floor.

Hearing a laugh from above she glanced up to see him staring down still, obviously finding her small tumble amusing. Anger reached through her again and she scrambled to her feet, only to hear a soft thud just a foot behind her. Turning around mid crouch she saw him standing there beside her, arm raised as if to hit her.

She flinched away from him and fell to her knees, covering her head with her arms, a small whimper escaping her lips.

Stefano saw her flinch. Watched her reaction to him and looked at his raised arm. He had only gone to run it through his hair in exasperation, and she thought he had gone to hit her.

Bile rose in his throat and he looked at the girl shivering before him, afraid of only the smallest movements made by him. It hadn't meant to be like this. He was meant to seduce her, make her want to offer herself up to him. The dress had been to make her feel beautiful and wanted. But her strange resistance to the waves of warmth he'd been trying to send her had not blocked the terror that was now evident in her eyes.

It seemed he was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.

He came down to his knees in front of her shying body.

"Dearest Elizabeth, I'm not going to hurt you. Please open your eyes and look at me?"

He saw her flinch again at the nearness of his voice and he suddenly got impatient.

Raising his voice he ordered; "Elizabeth look at me now!"

She immediately snapped up her head and he saw the silver tears in the moonlight sliding down her face.

He could sense her heart pounding and lowered his head down to her soft lips, stopping just a breath away to gage her reaction. When she didn't flinch he moved down and pressed his lips against hers, tasting the salty tears, when he felt as if he had been punched in the stomach.

A blinding gold light burst behind his closed eye lids, surrounded them both, and he could feel her mind pressed against his, as if he was feeding from her. His senses were alive and every part of him was attuned to her.

He could a feel pull to her very core, and with his mind's eye, looked down and saw a golden cord reaching between them from where he had always imagined a soul to be, if he had one.

As his shock wore off, the acceptance flooded in. So the Soulmate Principle wasn't a legend. And through some ironic twist, his Soulmate was this beautiful human. The one species on earth he had sworn to hate.

He could feel her mind prodding at his, trying to get into his deepest secrets. He sensed that she already knew who he was, his family- or lack of, his human life, his vampire life, the secrets that surrounded the night world, his feelings towards her, everything. Well not everything, the things he kept closest to his heart she had not yet seen, nor would she ever. He knew that if she could see what he had done to pretty little girls like her, she'd run screaming from him, Soulmate or not.

In response to his barriers, he felt her also withdraw her mind, a shock of shame and hurt flowing from her. He could feel how venerable she felt with her mind of pure innocence opened to him, and he knew all of her secrets now, of her mild fancy for that Chris boy, and the moments they had stolen together. He felt a jealous anger curse through him when he saw in her mind her reaction to this Chris. He could remember himself, seeing from the window of the car, and then through her bedroom window the two events that sung in her memory. As he thought this he felt her understand.

"_You were the one that knocked on the window" _she seemed to be thinking, but not directly talking to him.

She seemed to be not angry, but pleased at this truth uncovered.

"_Maybe he does care after all..."_ He heard her think. She didn't seem to know he could hear her, and her honest thoughts cut him to the core, knowing that he did care for this human. He cared more for her than anyone he had ever met, but they could never be together, or it would mean death for the both of them.

* * *

All she could feel was happiness. She'd found the one person in life that was destined for her. Yes he was a vampire, and he'd done dreadful things. She wasn't sure what dreadful things, but she'd seen in his memories people congratulating him for his deeds against humans. But she didn't care. She loved him implicitly. It was just a shame she could sense one of his earlier thoughts.

She had seen his thoughts from before he'd kissed her. He was going to have to kill her now that she knew all this, and he was doing it so that he wouldn't be killed himself.

And Liz accepted that. She knew now that she would lay her life down for him no matter what. She loved him, with her entire being.

It seemed that Stefano felt this and she felt a shock of horror pass over them.

"_NO!" _He roared in her mind, not seeming to move his lips as they were still connected with hers, almost in an alternative reality._ "I can't kill her...what am I going to do? I can't be with her. Not when she's like this..."_

Suddenly the voice stopped as he seemed to realise she could hear him, and she felt the warm arms around her body grip her a little tighter as he pulled away from their deep kiss.

Coming back to reality she began to sense again the hard gravel digging into her knees from the drive, the cool night air reminding her of her flimsy attire.

She opened her eyes to find them both lying on the floor, his arms wrapped around her supporting her head from the gravel, their legs entwined together.

He looked down at her and she saw the flash of love that passed over him as he took in her face, cradled in his arms.

But in a second's realisation, he released her and she went flying on her back away from him, head crashing into the gravel, and he sprang to his feet in one fluid motion.

"NO!" He roared into the night. He was pacing backwards and forwards before her whilst she gathered her wits and repositioned the now very dirty dress.

She couldn't understand his rage, when she had been feeling so utterly peaceful just moments ago, and she could still see the cord just faintly in the moonlight, connecting the two of them. With her mind she tugged on that cord to see what would happen and it immediately brought his attention to her.

"How could this be happening to me?", He looked down at her beseechingly, as if she could answer his question. "This was never meant to happen. You were meant to be good for one night only, and go home in the morning, and never remember a thing. I was going to pluck your virginity from you, and you'd never remember. And now! Now we are going to die. This is your entire fault!"

He was working himself up into a rage and she sat silently, watching him, unsure whether to say anything.

Then he turned to her, a light had gone on in his eyes, a menacing look as his teeth started to lengthen.

"I know a way to solve this." He whispered, advancing on her.


	9. Chapter 9

To everyone who has read/subscribed to/enjoyed the story so far, I am very sorry for the stupid amount of time I had left between updating. I have now completed the story, so will be uploading a new chapter everyday (hopefully!). I know its not excuse, but my laptop died and I had already written the whole thing. I couldn't quite bring myself to do it all over again, but now I have, and its a little bit different to the first time, but it will make no difference to you :) Hope you enjoy, sorry if it disappoints.

Chapter 9

Liz looked up into the face of her supposed soul mate. His face had contorted again into that terrifying expression and as he bent down onto his knees to bring himself to her level, she felt all the recently discovered love for him inside her evaporate from her heart leaving behind cold hard terror.

A silent tear slid down her cheek as he advanced, and he brushing her hair roughly from her neck. She was frozen in shock as she realised he was going to bite her and kill her. Why must he kill her? Surely he could trust her to keep his secret? She knew he had felt her mind, and her love for him. He must not love her at all, he just wanted to rid her from his life. Did a soulmate even mean love? Would he have ever loved her? Or was she to him what he had suggested, only good for one night. Waves of sadness crashed over Liz as with sudden clarity she realised that without his love her life was not worth living. This beautifully cold boy whom she barely knew had managed to steal and then shatter her heart all within the space of 10 minutes, and she felt pathetic because of it.

Sighing and resigning herself to her fate she closed her eyes, feeling his breath on her neck, when a bright light and roaring engine interrupted the silent night.

Wrenching her eyes open she glanced up to Stefano to see him staring at something over her shoulder down the gravel drive. Twisting around, she saw a large black 4x4 tearing up the massive driveway heading directly towards them.

Within seconds Stefano had scooped Liz up into his arms into the house. He placed her down in a coat closet onto a plastic box in the corner. He looked down at her and brought his face to hers.

"Stay here and do not utter a word." He whispered against her lips. "These people are very dangerous and will try to kill you if they find out about you. I will not be able to protect you if they find you, so do your best not to get caught. Try not to breathe if you think they're close, and do not even attempt to escape. This is not over Elizabeth."

She felt an electric tingle as his lips brushed hers in an almost loving manner, hope sparking through the pit of her stomach. He was obviously trying to protect her from whoever had come up the drive way, maybe he didn't want her to die...

She looked up from her thoughts in time to see him close the closet door immersing her in complete darkness, a thrill of fear shooting through her as her eyes struggled to adjust to the dark.

After a few moments she heard the doorbell to the large house ring and slow footsteps squeaked the floorboards above the closet. She heard Stefano open the stiff front door and a husky Italian accented female voice floated out across the hallway.

"Ciao Stefano! How I have missed you my dear bambino. I shall never leave you again for so long, I 'ave so missed our beautiful love making. You will always be my best bedroom dance partner."

"Hello Carlita. It is very nice to see you too. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh Stefano! You silly boy, do I need a reason to come visit my favourite_ armante? _"

"Of course not Carlita" He replied.

From the closet, Liz heard a slight scuffling and the wet sound of lips on lips. Her heart had plummeted to the bottom of her stomach and overwhelming jealousy coursed through her body. She had heard enough and knew enough Italian to know that this Carlita woman had just called Stefano her "lover", and she had no doubt in her mind what a bedroom dance partner was. Any hope that she had gained in that one kiss now fled from her body, and she once again felt cold an empty. Tears flooded down her face and she knew she had to escape this house before her heart broke any more. She heard movement from the couple as they broke apart.

"Come Carlita, let me show you upstairs. I'm afraid it is a bit of a mess, I had a little human problem earlier, you may be able to smell her. Unfortunate rat, she thought I might have feelings for her and attempted to make me her boyfriend. The mess upstairs is the repercussions of having a deranged human girl after you. I've dealt with her though. Should be dead out there somewhere by now."

"Oh Stefano! You naughty boy! Although I wouldn't be able to resist you either if you were to try to drink from myself too. These vermin are so easily lead are they not."

"Well I think most of the Nightworld understand my feelings on vermin."

"Yes that is true Steffy, and what a reputation too. However, I did not come to talk about those rats. Lead me to your bedroom where we will have more important matters to discuss."

As she heard them make their way up the stairs, Liz could no longer hold onto the sobs that were rocking her body. Slipping from the coat cupboard she launched herself out of the front door closing it as quietly as she could behind her and into the cold night, almost collapsing from the grief overwhelming her. Past the dark car and down the drive she stumbled, not daring to look back at the house that contained the only man she would ever love who was currently having sex with another woman.

Reaching the bottom of the drive Liz looked either way down the dark country road. There were no street lights and barely any moon light with the tall dark looming trees above her.

As she stood making the decision of which way to turn, Liz heard a slight noise behind her and turned towards it.

A hand clamped over her mouth from behind and an arm snaked around her waist pushing her body against the person behind her.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Stefano's POV:

It was typical of Carlita to just show up like this at the most inconvenient time. Unfortunately the power that was contained within this slip of a woman stopped him from refusing her entry. Carlita was one of the most powerful Vampires on the council at around 500 years old, there were very few men who managed to avoid her bed when demanded.

Talking to her and even considering sex with her, with Liz in the closet just a few meters away sent an angry spark through Stefano's mind, knowing she could hear every unjust and unfeeling word he uttered. Trying to keep his emotions from flickering across his face and clamping physiological steel walls around his mind just to keep a casual persona Stefano took the conversation upstairs away from Liz's ears to convince Carlita that this was a bad time for them to "do the dirty" as she so lovingly called it. He had more important things to attend to. Such as illegally converting his soulmate for his own selfish means so that he can love her unconditionally for the rest of eternity. If only it wasn't so risky to both of them, he wouldn't think twice.

A small flicker of excitement flared in his chest when he thought of what he could do with her when she was so much more unbreakable. Oh the "bedroom dancing" they would experience.

* * *

Terror overcame Liz as she shrieked and struggled against the body behind her, attempting to kick the person, bite the hand crushing her mouth, tear at the arms covering her waist, but it was all in vain.

"Keep still" growled the male voice from behind her. "I could snap your neck with a touch of my hand, human. We are going to go for a little jog now and I want you to stay silent. If I move my hand you are not to scream or try to run. Seeing as you just came from little ol' Stefano's house I'm assuming you know exactly what I am, and exactly what I can do. Is that correct?"

Liz knew the only way she was ever getting out of this was by cooperating, so dutifully nodded her head.

"Good. Now stay silent."

The hand that was clapped painfully over her mouth disappeared and Liz bit back the urge to scream knowing it would do no good. Turning within the arms still embracing her waist Liz looked into the eyes of her captor.

He had to be the second most beautiful male she had ever seen, after Stefano. His pale hair shone in the silver moonlight and his dark eyelashes enhanced the deep gaze.

Catching a gasp in her throat Liz couldn't help but notice his hard body pressed against hers. He had to be at least six foot, plus. Her neck was craned up just to see his face, and she watched as his eyes scoured her features and his gaze dropped down to her unprotected throat, and finally to her uncovered cleavage.

A shiver ran down Liz's spine, and she reached up to attempt to touch her throat, hiding it from his view, but he caught her wrists in a vice like grip and she winced at the sudden pinch of his fingers.

"You, are a very unlucky girl, do you know that?" He whispered, as if there were people around who could hear him.

"Why are you doing this?" Liz whispered back, afraid of raising any louder than he had.

"What's your name human?"

Liz hesitated. What harm could her name do?

"Liz"

"Well, Liz, my name is Richard, and you have been so unfortunate to have been cursed with being soulmates with steffy baby up there" he shrugged towards the house up the drive behind them in the dark. "I saw everything from here, quite a looker isn't he? Well I'm sorry to have to tell you, but you are now what they call in the world of revenge, leverage. And I fully intend to use you as such. Your Stefano managed to kill, my own soulmate, a weak human, just like you. A little bit of blood thirst combined with not being able to keep 'it' in his pants, and my life was destroyed forever. Now, the tables have turned and it seems I have everything I need to make his life a misery just as he did to me."

With this final statement Richard reached down Liz's quivering body to her hips and placed his hands on either side. With a firm yank, he ripped at the material on her right side, steadying her with his hand on her left and ripped a large chunk of white chiffon down to the bottom and off, leaving a gaping hole down the length of her leg.

Shocked, Liz jumped backwards and started to shiver as the cool night breeze swung her dress out behind her. Trying to protect her modesty she clung at the material to cover herself up. She glanced up to see what her kidnapper was up to, and saw him tie the material to one of the gates that were open at the bottom of the drive behind them.

"And now, it is time to come with me Liz. I must say, you are nothing compared to my Megan, but Stefano _was _a lucky man to have had you as a soulmate. I understand that killing you may put a damper on this friendship, but I just can't allow Stefano to not suffer as badly as I have. Killing him would be futile compared to the pain he will receive when you're gone."

"You're wrong" Liz mumbled at her feet." He doesn't love me"

Richards P.O.V

Richard stopped to stare at this beautiful, if dishevelled human. It seemed even she didn't understand the full extent of her soulmate's feelings towards her. What a shame she would never understand. But Richard knew. He knew how even if you wanted not to love, you had no choice. It pained him to know that this innocent human was never going to feel the pleasure of knowing that that love was returned, but there was nothing he could do about that. Nothing could bring Megan back, but this...revenge would sweeten the blow for him.

Leaving the material from the shivering girls dress on the gate would achieve four things. One, it would mean Stefano would know that his sweet love had been taken. Two he would be able to smell Richard's hands on it, so he would come after him. Three, it would imply that he had caused her harm or at least touched her inappropriately, (something he hadn't quite dismissed just yet), and fourth and finally, it would give him a glimpse of the fine legs under that dirty dress.

Scooping up the shivering girl into his arms, careful to make sure the gaping material fell away awarding him with a long expanse of leg, Richard started to run at break neck speed down the country roads towards his home 50 miles away.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Stefano's P.O.V

An exhausted hour later, Stefano watched as Carlita's car turned down the long driveway with his heart in his mouth. He had managed to avoid her demanding libido and convinced her to leave, possibly one of the longest hours of his life. As the light from the headlights disappeared he raced down the stairs and wrenched open the closet door. Empty. He nudged a few boxes with his toe to make sure Elizabeth wasn't in any of them, hiding.

"Elizabeth?" He called.

Panic began to rise in his chest as he smelt the air around him. The smell of her sweet skin had gone stale; she definitely hadn't been here for at least an hour.

"Oh God..." He muttered to himself. Using his vamperic speed he raced to every room of the house wrenching each open, dust from the unused rooms flying around him, and doors crashing into the walls as they rebounded on their hinges.

Screaming Elizabeth's name, room after room, Stefano eventually calmed down and thought rationally. He walked back to the cupboard and sniffed the air till he could smell her dying scent. Following the vague aroma Stefano raced down the gravel driveway to find the piece of dirty white cloth that hung there, limp and lifeless in the cold dark night.

Rage overcame him as he smelled the familiar scent of the man he had sent insane because of some stupid human. As the thought crossed his mind he took it back, realising the he was nearly in the same state as that snivelling Richard creature because of one of those stupid humans. At break neck speed Stefano sprinted the many miles to Richard's house, unable to even think of the consequences of not having Elizabeth in his life.

Liz's P.O.V

Liz felt as if she was flying. The cold night air whipped at her hair and dress, as the cool arms around her gripped her body to a firm chest, darkness and shadows whizzing past. After a terrifying, yet exhilarating 2 minutes light surrounded her as she was unceremoniously dumped onto a soft bed. Blinking, Liz looked around her at the four poster bed she had been chucked onto and looked up to finally see her captor for his true self, now standing over her staring at her with a look in his eyes she didn't quite understand.

Suddenly he leant forwards onto the bed, placing an arm either side of her. She felt his breath on her neck as she shivered from the sudden proximity of her body. She didn't want to die. She really didn't. Waiting for the bite on her neck to end her life, she scrunched shut her eyes, listening, waiting.

As quickly as he had leant in, he sighed and leant back again, Liz's eyes springing open watching him with a cautious gaze.

"Well if you're going to die, I suppose I should let you do so with dignity." He mumbled, almost to himself. "My Megan would have never agreed with this."

Standing back, Richard walked to a chest of mahogany draws across the room and pulled out a few items of clothing. Chucking them at Liz he walked towards the door.

"Put these on quickly. He should be here soon and then this will all end. You do remind me of my beautiful Megan. I am sorry Liz."

Remorse seemed to play across his eyes as he took a glance at her, quivering on the bed, then his eyes hardened and he walked out slamming the door.

Gratefully, Liz pulled off the ruined dress and inspected the clothing he had given her. She held out a pair of men's large shorts and a plain white T-shirt, both big enough to drown her in. Pulling them both on she fastened the draw string on the shorts so they didn't fall off and tied her tangled hair up with a piece of string she found on the side.

Rushing to the door she rattled the handle to discover it was locked. Not very surprising, she thought. Then testing the windows for good measure, she climbed onto the bed after discovering them to be shuttered from the outside.

A rush of drowsiness overcame Liz and she crawled under the soft looking black duvet she was sitting on. Unable to put a coherent thought together she crawled up into a ball and fell immediately asleep, strangely comforted by her soon-to-be murderers scent on the pillows.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A massive crash from outside her door woke Liz from her slumber with a start. Scrambling to the door she rattled the lock again finding it still locked.

Muffled voices came from another room somewhere;

"WHERE IS SHE" Bellowed the voice. Liz recognised it as Stefano's and relief washed over her. Maybe he did love her? He was here after all...Or maybe he just wanted to kill her himself to keep his secret.

"IF I FIND OUT YOU'VE HURT HER I'LL KILL YOU"

Another voice joined the yelling and Liz heard Richard reply.

"YOU KILLED MY MEGAN AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO PAY STEFANO! I HAVEN'T KILLED HER YET SO THAT YOU CAN SEE HER DIE BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES!"

With that, Liz heard a few more crashes and grunts, and finally a loud yell of pain pierced the air. Liz held her breath, waiting for the injured to make a noise.

"LIZ RUUUUUN" Stefano screamed.

Panic took over as Liz, confirming her fears that Stefano had been the one hurt. Looked around the room for a suitable weapon, thoughts flooded her mind as she tried to remember any self defence she had ever been taught. What would hurt a vampire? Wood! Her jumbled mind exclaimed. Seeing a wooden candle holder on the side Liz grabbed it and crashed it over the mahogany set of draws. To her great surprise, instead of the candle holder breaking like she had expected, a large piece of splintered wood crashed to the floor off the lip of the draws. Picking up the now lethal looking piece of dark wood, Liz hid behind the door of the room, waiting for someone to open it.

Footsteps bounded up the stairs, one set strong and determined the other dragging behind. As the lock jingled and the door was thrown open, Liz caught a glimpse of a blonde head of hair, long enough to know it was the right vampire she was about to attack.

Without a second thought, Liz lunged towards the unsuspecting vampire, stake held high, ready to plunge it into his back, resolved to save Stefano.

As Liz brought the stake down with all her might, Richard flew around to grip her wrist with bone crushing strength, causing the wood to fall meekly to the ground.

"Don't you dare!" He hissed into her face, wrist still held painfully above her head.

"Elizabeth!" cried a weak voice from the stairs. Liz craned her neck around the door to see Stefano collapsed on the stairs, a wooden stake protruding from his leg and another from his neck, blood drenching his shirt.

Trying to wrench her arm from Richard, Liz scrabbled towards him, however Richards firm grip on her arm only tightened, her weak attempts barely affecting him.

"And now, Stefano you shall watch as I destroy the most important person in your life before your very eyes, in the same way that as I watched my Megan die."

With that final statement Richard heaved Liz to the bed and roughly shoved her down, bending towards her neck, uncovered by the string holding her hair whilst holding her wrists above her head.

Tears filled Liz's eyes as she fought the weight pressing her to the bed and twisted her head from side to side so he couldn't get a strike on her neck. She brought her leg up in between Richards and kicked upwards into his groin with all her strength.

Cringing, Richards grip on her wrists only tightened as he breathed though the pain, unwilling to let go of her wrists. His face contorted and his fangs were bared as she stared up into his face chocking on the scream in her throat. As he twisted his head to the side towards the open doorway, Liz followed Richards gaze as it landed on the now crumpled body of the one man she would lay down her life for. Stefano's face was a picture of sadness, tears falling freely from his face as he watched unable to move.

"I love you..." She whispered turning back to meet her fate.

"ELIZABETH NO!" was the last thing she heard before a spine snapping pain belted into her neck and she felt the life being sucked out of her, teeth gnawing at her neck and the feeling starting to recede from her fingers.

Struggling against the hold on her neck, Liz slowly lost strength and tiredness flooded her body, when suddenly the leaching on her neck stopped and a heavy weight assaulted her. Richard had collapsed on top of her seemingly unconscious, his body seemed to be shrinking and growing lighter by the second. Liz fought to hold onto consciousness as the weight on her was finally moved and looking down on her was Stefano, holding the stake that had been wedged in his neck.

Liz felt the world swim around her and she had the urge to hold onto the bed to make sure she didn't fall off as her eyes tried to focus. Stefano collapsed to his knees beside her on the bed, and cradled her neck.

"Elizabeth, oh Elizabeth I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." He mumbled. Liz could feel a few wet droplets fall on her cheeks as he leant over her, but reality started blurring again as she realised he was ok and safe. That's all that mattered now.

Slowly closing her eyes, Liz whispered "I love you, Stefano."

Stefano's P.O.V

He watched as the life drained out of her. He couldn't take this anymore. The weakness he had felt before from the wood thrust in his body was forgotten as the burn in his heart pushed him to act. Wrenching the stake from his neck, Stefano ran to the bed thrusting it into the feeding body. He felt the ribs crack and move as he drove the stake into the heart of the vampire destroying his beautiful Elizabeth.

He watched the body slump forward, and found the strength to pull it off her before she was squashed by the weight. There, underneath, lay his beautiful woman. Blood was all over her neck and large gashes adorned her throat, so deep he thought he could see the outline of her larynx. A sob wracked his body and he felt emotions surface that he hadn't felt since he was human. Grief shook him as tears fell down his face.

He could feel the life draining out of her. She was dying. And there was only one thing he could do about it. He knew she didn't want it, and it was all he had wanted just a few hours ago. But now, facing her beautiful innocent face, he couldn't quite bring himself to cause his love to die, subjecting her to a life of vampire misery.

However his own selfishness took the decision out of his hands and he pulled the stake out of his leg, and ran it across his wrist, a drop of blood forming at the cut, and raised it to Liz's head, lowering it to her lips as he gently held her cooling body.


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Elizabeth, stop running away from me!"

Girlish giggles came from a nearby tree, when in a flash of pale blue, a weight jumped on his back. A smile crossed his lips as he felt his beautiful soulmate cling to his neck. Swinging her around to his front, Stefano cradled Liz in his arms, her arms still around his neck. Leaning down to softly kiss her sweet lips, Liz sighed into his body, the golden string between them glowing in their peripheral vision.

"I'm hungry," She pouted.

"Ok my lovely, let's go find some food."

"But only vegetarian! You know you promised Steffy!"

"Yes ok," He sighed. "But if I'm going to keep away from humans from now on, I think a bit of compensation is in order. Woodland animals stink. The only reason I'm doing this is to prove my love for you."

"And what compensation do you have in mind?" She giggled, suspecting her mind was already thinking down the same lines.

"This kind!" He exclaimed dropping her slowly to the carpet of leaves below them. The trees surrounding them, and the wind gently caressing her golden locks, that splayed like a halo around her head. Lowering his body down to hers, he immediately captured her lips with his and ran a hand up her thigh under the pale blue summer dress. Passion enraptured them both, and neither was worried as more and more items of clothing lay discarded around them.

An hour later, they lay in the leaves, arms wrapped around each other, each lost in their little world.

Liz had been forced to leave her home town, her family declaring her missing. She sent them a note explaining how she loved them but would never see them again. She still sometimes ran to their house and watched as her mother sat by her bedside, crying silently at a picture of her. Liz hadn't quite managed to get over the loss of her family, but she knew she could never return, she had to protect them from the Night World. If they died because of her... well she wouldn't be able to bare it.

Liz and Stefano went into hiding in the local mountain range, feeding off wolves and other such animals, Stefano teaching Liz how to be a vampire, and Liz convincing Stefano to turn "vegetarian" with her, so that they weren't to feed on humans.

And now, they were content. Happy with the situation they found themselves in, despite being a little bit cold, lying in the leaves as they were. But as long as they had each other, nothing could harm them.

* * *

_Hi Guys, I'd just like to thank anyone who got this far, and apologise for anyone following the story and experienced of the break in the middle. I hope you don't mind the epilogue, but I thought it needed finishing where it did. So I've recently discovered Wattpad, I'm sure most of you already know about it, but if you didn't I highly recommend it. You can write stories that are your own, or you can publish in their fan fiction section. Hope you all are having a nice time. Till we meet again fanfictioners! _

_Senghennydd _


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